Social Accountability International (SAI) is a non-profit, multi-stakeholder organization established to advance the human rights of workers by promoting decent work conditions, labor rights, and corporate social responsibility through voluntary standards and capacity building.

SAI is headquartered in the United States with field representation in Brazil, China, Costa Rica, India, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Philippines, Switzerland, and UAE.

This groundbreaking program will engage workers in Brazil to address root causes of health and safety issues in factories, using mobile technology, internal team building and effective change management.

SAI has developed a program to help Brazilian factories improve health and safety in the workplace. The program will blend dynamic elements- change management methodologies and mobile technology - with SAI's management systems-based approach to improve workplace conditions. Disney provided the program's founding grant and other partners include Rapid Results Institute, Labor Link, and the Cahn Group LLC.

Over the past decade, it has become clear that auditing alone cannot drive the positive change needed to improve the fair treatment and dignity of workers. Social performance management systems are key elements in the capacity building process. They are needed to address the issues that are found during the audits and to drive positive change in a workplace.

The program will:

* address root causes of health and safety issues

* form worker/manager social performance teams focused on improving health and safety

* make measurable improvements in one specific health and safety issue in a 100-day Rapid Results project

The program will work in phases to reach key outcomes: 1) listen to workers' voices; 2) establish complaint management and resolution systems and communication channels needed to sustain the improvement process throughout and after the program's conclusion; 3) generate immediate and sustainable measurable improvements in occupational health and safety; and 4) form and empower an Internal Social Performance Team at each factory, consisting of workers and managers to manage future improvement projects.

"To create sustainable improvements in working conditions, we need to go beyond training," said SAI Director of Corporate Programs & Training, Craig Moss. "This program will help to drive immediate improvements in a factory around health and safety, while laying the foundation for ongoing improvement. Each factory will have a trained team that knows how to run a Rapid Results project to achieve measurable success. The initial program ends with a sustainability workshop and town hall at each factory so workers and managers can collectively select the next improvement goal."

As the world's sixth largest economy, Brazil is growing at a rapid pace. However, too often this rapid growth is characterized by harsh realities for workers in the very workplaces that are main contributors to the economic growth. Constant downward price pressure, and the risk of companies shifting production from country to country, can result in workforces being rapidly scaled up or down to meet the demand without consideration of labor laws. For workers, especially migrant workers, having a channel to communicate unsafe or indecent working conditions is a huge challenge.

Thanks to the support of Disney, SAI is able to provide this extensive program at no cost to the participating Brazilian companies. SAI will begin accepting applications from companies located in the Sao Paulo area in November and December 2012. Approximately 50 companies will be selected. The program will be run in three waves in the second and third quarters of 2013.

If you or any of your suppliers are interested please contact SAI Senior Manager Jane Hwang - Jhwang@sa-intl.org. We will continue to post updates about this program in SAI's newsletter and website -

Snapshots from the SAI RAGS Project classroom workshops in India. From left: 1) Participants in Bangalore during a breakout session; 2) Group photo from the training in New Delhi on October 12 where participants hold up an SAI banner that was made by women being mentored by the organization Kaurageous; 3) during a breakout session at the training on October 12 in New Delhi, participants theorize a recruitment policy that combats gender discrimination. View more photos from the trainings at http://on.fb.me/RYBoBX. Photo credit: Rishi Sher Singh.

Starting September 2012, four classroom trainings have taken place in three cities in India: Tirupur, September 26; Bangalore, October 9; and New Delhi, October 12 and 13. The theme of the training, "Management Systems to Address Gender Discrimination," focused on the ready-made garment industry, and other related industries.

The classroom trainings are part of the UK aid -funded RAGS Project. Funding from this project helps to subsidize the trainings to make them affordable for participants from supplier factories. To date, an estimated 80 attendees have participated in the classroom trainings, representing 24 supplier factories.

"In India, most of the women in the lowest strata of the society continue to not receive their fair share of development and equal opportunity might not be available to them in factories," said SAI India Project Director Rishi Sher Singh. "These classroom trainings are important because they bring factory managers to start thinking differently about what equal opportunity in a workplace looks like and to move away from gender based stereotypes."

The curriculum for the training was developed over the course of 2011 and 2012. Findings from the multi-stakeholder advisory committees (MACs) that took place in New Delhi and Tirupur in November 2011, feedback from project partners and field level research has served as the foundation for the curriculum. In May 2012, a three-day multi-stakeholder workshop was convened in New Delhi to share the operations details of the project and gather feedback from brands, trainers and industry experts.

Classroom trainings will continue until March 2013. Four additional classroom trainings are scheduled for 2012:

Tirupur, November 2

Bangalore, November 6

Bangalore, December 7

New Delhi, December 11

Special thanks to PGC Switcher for hosting the training in Tirupur on September 26 and Shahi Exports for hosting on October 13 in New Delhi.

To view more photos from the training, visit sa-intl.org/indiarags. For more information and to register for trainings, please contact SAI India Project Director Rishi Sher Singh - Rishi@sa-intl.org.

Snapshot from the event. From left: Dr. Fernando Malespín, Advisor to the Ministry of Labor in Nicaragua; Ana Aslan, USDOL; Alfonso Carro, Advisor to the Ministry of Labor in Costa Rica; and Yolanda Brenes, SAI Lead Trainer.

Governments play a key role in enforcing the labor laws that establish the minimum for decent work. However, lack of resources and access to training and technical assistance can limit their capacity to carry out inspections. In Project Comply and Win, the goal was to build the capacities of 5 Central American labor ministries to conduct quality inspections that emphasize root causes analysis of labor violations and more preventative approaches.

On September 12, 2012, Project Comply and Win, a project of the U.S. Department of Labor led by FUNDPADEM since 2003, convened a meeting in San Jose, Costa Rica to present on project impacts in Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Since 2008, SAI has participated in this project as an implementing partner, led by SAI Lead Trainer Yolanda Brenes who helped to train over 500 labor inspectors -- over 100 in each country.

The project concluded this year; however the training materials and protocols developed will sustain the impact of the program in each project country as they continue to be used by the partner organizations, on the topics listed below:

Two additional achievements were the project's ability to facilitate cooperation and convene and consult stakeholders. Two specific examples are:

1) the Labor Inspector Code of Ethics for El Salvador was adopted by the Ministry of Labor with support of the International Labour Organisation (ILO); and 2) Dominican agricultural producers and workers' rights organizations cooperated with labor inspectors in developing an Agricultural Inspections Protocol.

SAI & ICCO to convene a two-day training event in Bangalore to help businesses implement the UN Guiding Principles in their company and supply chain

In June 2011, the UNHRC adopted the UN Guiding Principles (GPs) on Business & Human Rights, developed by UN Special Representative John Ruggie. These groundbreaking principles seek to ensure that businesses respect human rights. The challenge now is in their implementation.

To assist with that goal, SAI and ICCO developed tools for business and has started a new a new training course centered on their recent Handbook & Toolkit.Register nowfor the next training in Bangalore, India on November 27-28, 2012. The first training took place in Utrecht, the Netherlands, September 17-18.

This exercise-driven two-day course will help a company utilize the Handbook & put the UN GPs into practice. It addresses questions concerning:

Scope of the UN GPs

Difficulties & challenges with implementing the GPs

The course will introduce attendees to a six-step method on how to implement a supply chain management system that integrates human rights. The six steps are:

After completing the training, attendees will have a good understanding of the implications and opportunities of the GPs for business. Moreover they will be able to translate these GPs into their daily practice through the 6-step approach of the training and the practical formats, tools, cases and exercises that have been made available. All attendees will receive a complimentary copy of the Handbook & Toolkit as well as a certificate of attendance.

Expected Participants: The Training is applicable to any size company in any industry. It is designed for use by senior management as well as professionals in the human resources, corporate social responsibility, compliance and sourcing departments. In addition, the Training is also intended for factory managers, CSR experts and consultants who train or advise companies, as well as for NGO and trade union representatives to learn about the implications of the GPs for their work.

Trainers: The training will be conducted by Rishi Singh, SAI India Project Director and Edwin Koster, SAI´s European Representative. Both have broad experience in sustainable supply chain management. Mr. Koster is the co-author of the Handbook and Toolkit used in the Training.

SAI & the Tata Council for Community Initiatives hosted a joint leadership training program on social responsibility in the supply chain

From left: 1) Group photo of training participants; 2) Participants deliberate during a breakout session. View more photos @on.fb.me/SFwni9.

On October 16-18, SAI and the Tata Council for Community Initiatives (TCCI) hosted a leadership training program in Mumbai for the Tata group of companies. The training program explored ideas of leadership commitment, shared values and practical capacity building tools to embed social responsibility throughout the Tata companies and supply chain.

SAI Advisory Board member and TCCI Vice President Anant G. Nadkarni kicked off the 3-day workshop with a call to participants to take a leadership role in advancing the Tata legacy of "living and sharing the human touch". The meeting was facilitated by SAI Lead Trainer, Badri Gulur; SAI India Project Director, Rishi Sher Singh; and SAI Senior Manager of Corporate Programs & Training, Jane Hwang. They led the group through training and exercises on SA8000, the UN Guiding Principles, the Social Fingerprint® approach to developing and implementing management systems, cross-functional Internal Social Performance Teams and change management techniques. 17 managers from 10 Tata companies participated in the program, including managers from Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Capital, Voltas Limited, Tata Consulting Engineers Limited and Westside.

View photos from the training @on.fb.me/SFwni9. Stay tuned - the November 2012 newsletter will include an interview with Mr. Nadkarni.

SAI training courses are designed to encourage proficiency in social compliance and emphasize the implementation of management systems in combination with performance elements. These courses are required for all SA8000® and BSCI auditors, and are just as valuable to internal auditors, buyers, managers and workers for auditing to any labor code or standard. The courses are open to all. Complimentary places are available for NGO and trade union participants.

SAI is pleased to welcome Carolyn as SAI's new Administrative Assistant

In this new position, Ms. Collantes provides support to SAI's President and Executive Director, in collaboration with Christie Daly, SAI Coordinator- Corporate & Executive Services Christie Daly. She will also be supporting Stephanie Wilson, SAI Training Coordinator.

Ms. Collantes received her B.A. from The Pennsylvania State University, double majoring in International Politics and Spanish. She is currently a part-time graduate student at NYU working towards an M.S. in Global Affairs. Carolyn has a strong interest in human rights in Latin America which led her to work as an intern in the Latin American Department for Covenant House International and last summer with the organization Sistema Divina Providencia, a nonprofit in Brazil, assisting the Communications department.

Meet SAI's New Intern: Chris LamoureauxChris joins SAI from Texas to Support & Represent the HQ Team

Chris Lamoureaux

Meet Chris Lamoureaux: I'm an international studies student from Texas. I am passionate about human and civil rights and all fields that pertain to it. I am planning on going to law school for international law and continue to pursue a career in this field. I am interning for SAI because I believe in the mission and the incredible opportunity afforded to me. I have been working on multiple projects for different aspects of the organization, including work on SAI's Social Fingerprint® Program, research and development of a risk assessment program, and the SA8000 revision.

Additionally, my time here at SAI has been characterized by fervent discussion and education. I have attended a portion of the multitude of conferences and seminars that New York has to offer. This is a rundown of the events I have attended so far:

Snapshots from the art competition in Bangalore that was carried out through SAI's RAGS Project & the Parikrma Humanity Foundation. From left: 1) One of the winning drawing from the art competition; 2) SAI India Project Director stands with the three winners. View more photos @sa-intl.org/indiarags

In late September 2012, SAI's RAGS Project and the Parikrma Humanity Foundation initiated an arts competition with underprivileged children in Bangalore. This event sought to encourage creativity and awareness in the community about gender discrimination in the workplace and beyond, which is a key focus of the RAGS Project. See photos above, and view more @

On October 23, SAI President Alice Tepper Marlin moderated this panel at the UN Global Compact Fall Symposium in NYC.

Roundtable Discussion on the Business & Human Rights Agenda

On October 22, SAI Executive Director Eileen Kaufman spoke at a seminar at Fordham Law School, focusing on how civil society, international organizations and corporations can partner together to promote human rights.

On October 22 in Jerusalem, SAI Field Services Director Doug DeRuisseau presented at the International Conference of the Israel Society for Quality on 'Social Compliance in the Supply Chain' as part of the 'Global Audits and Training for Social Accountability' session.